What is Beyond?
by Deta Henkan
Summary: AU. An accident occurs during a mission and a hero is lost. What effect will it have on those close to him? What is lost and what can be recovered?
1. Error and Loss

Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman, Red vs. Blue, or ghosts. Hopefully, this story's idea is mine. Not a crossover with Red vs. Blue.

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"Okay, Lan," a blue navi said inside a network mainframe. "I deleted all the viruses in the tank."

"Good," the brunette replied as he got out from his cover behind a rock high up on a cliff that had previously been shot at by a machine gun that seemed to have an infinite number of bullets. "So what now?"

"I'm going to use the tank to stop the other ones, of course," the blue navi said as he brought up some screens.

"Well, sorry, Megaman!" Lan yelled.

'His idea to jack me in to every tank and delete all the viruses is too risky,' the blue navi thought as he entered commands on the holographic screens he brought up. 'I'll just take control of this one and blow up the other tanks so Lan won't have to put his life on the line any more than he should.'

"Cannon on-line," a mechanical voice said. "Auto-targeting system activated. Searching for targets..."

The screen for the targeting system began looking around.

"Hey, Megaman? How are things going on down there?" Lan asked.

"Target locked," the tank's mechanical voice spoke, its cannon aimed at Lan.

"Uh... Megaman?" Lan asked nervously.

"Target unlock! Lan is not a target!" Megaman yelled as he tried to override the auto-targeting program.

The tank fired.

"Auto-targeting system disabled," the mechanical voice said, as if to mock the navi.

* * *

Quite a prologue... Megaman tried to keeping Lan safe, but ended up killing his Net-op. What happens now? 


	2. Pain

Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman, Red vs. Blue elements, or ghosts. Hopefully, this story's idea is mine.

I'm going to switch back and forth from third person and Lan's POV in this chapter. I wanted to try something a bit different.

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"Oh, you've got to be _kidding_ me," a brunette said as he looked around. The landscape was similar to the place he had been been to. It just had a different feel and he wasn't outright ignored. However, he instantly knew something was wrong when he saw his own dead body. But, the thing that had him slightly irked was the fact that the tanks were all immediately disabled shortly after his own _navi and brother_ shot him with one of the tanks. Not only that, but the received help was now walking away. "Hey! Get back here and get my body! It's a disgrace to just leave it there!" 

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Shortly after the incident, Megaman received help in recovering from the fact he killed his Net-op and brother, aka had that memory wiped and replaced with a fake memory that Lan's death was caused by solo navis and Net-terrorists with no one but his father being the wiser. Lan's ghost was irked even more by the fact that his corpse would be lying out in the open where it lay because no one could be bothered to retrieve it or be told where it lay if someone wanted to.

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"Bow-chicka-bow-wow..." Lan said, the only thing keeping him from being bored out of his mind. Being widely ignored just because you were dead and with no other ghost to talk to, you tend to get bored pretty quickly.

The deceased brunette's spirit walked on until he heard a familiar voice. The brunette grumbled as he climbed up a tree. "Why the heck can't I phase through walls and stuff even though I'm a ghost?"

Sitting on the branch, he could now eavesdrop on his crush.

"So you wouldn't mind?" a girl with red hair and brown eyes asked a pink human-looking figure on her laptop's monitor.

"I said there wasn't anything I'd be able to do about it!" the pink-wearing navi huffed.

"I know, Roll," the redhead said. "So you wouldn't mind if I asked Hub out."

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If I had a physical heart, it would have probably frozen over and shattered into so many pieces. My death... It hasn't been that long and she's already over me? Worse, she wants to start a relationship with my brother, navi, and killer?

"Shouldn't you still be mourning Lan's death?" Roll asked. "I mean, he's been your best friend and you had a crush on him."

"I can mourn for him in my own way," her Net-op replied. "Now, which dress would be better?"

And how, may I ask, is deciding on a dress to ask out my brother/navi/killer on a date mourning for me? I mean, why not just stab a knife through my... Why not just... Why not just call the Ghostbusters on me?

"Maylu, you shouldn't be doing this..." Roll told her Net-op. "Isn't it kind of disgraceful to Lan's memory?"

I can just feel the blank stare accompanied with a slow blink that Maylu gave her navi. "Why don't you just visit his grave and confess your feelings for him?"

... That hurt... I can't take anymore of this. To know that I'm practically nothing to the girl I was ready to start a relationship with... Does everybody else feel the same way? ... I don't really want to find out.

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My crush feels nothing about my death... No grieving, no weeping, no sad smile, nothing... The emotional pain hurts more than I can bear. Some sort of reaction,_anything_, would have been nice. But indifference...? How am I supposed to live... exist with this knowledge? That my crush, someone whom I was going to start a serious relationship with, feels like my life, or lack thereof, is meaningless...

Lan entered his home, even though he knew whatever family member was there wouldn't acknowledge his presence. He was a ghost, a memory. Only his spirit remained for reasons unknown.

"Lan..." a female voice spoke.

Lan's attention turned to the woman sitting at the table. She had short brown hair, slightly unkempt. Her face was buried in her arm, hiding her brown eyes that were once filled with so much light and warmth. Her other arm, outstreched, reached and grabbed a lone sake bottle that sat on the table. This was his mom, Haruka Hikari. However, the brunette had never seen his mother in such a state before.

"Kaa-san..." Lan whispered before moving his gaze to the ground, his voice breaking. "Kaa-san..." Tears fell. Two figures wept. One a distraught mother who had lost her son, the other that wished he could console the one he was causing such pain.

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Kaa-san... I could understand if Papa was the reason for your pain... He's never around long. But, at least then I could help you... I don't want to be the reason you hurt... Kaa-san... You're always there for me. Always around where Dad was not. But why...? Why can't I be there for you when you need me?

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Lan stood by his mom, trying to help. The sad fact of the matter was that he was dead and couldn't do anything. Helpless... That was how Lan felt. Unable to do anything as he watched his mom try to dull her pain. Try to cope in a way that she was destroying herself. Worse, Lan had a feeling this would continue if nobody sought to help her.

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It may seem like it, but I'm not trying to make Maylu seem uncaring. I'm trying to have her go through the pretend-the-person-never-existed approach. We know this almost never works, but Maylu is trying. Maybe she figures Hub is the best way to get through it? 

Hurt... Pain... Loss... Uselessness... Will things turn around?


	3. Hope?

Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman, Red vs. Blue elements, or ghosts. Hopefully, this story's idea is mine.

There is another switch of third person and Lan's POV later in this chapter.

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Lan ran from his house, tears flowing from his face. He couldn't watch anymore. His mom, sleeping slumped over the table with tears running down her face and an arm holding an empty bottle once filled with sake... The image caused too much pain and he wasn't looking forward to the sight again. Once he stopped, he panted for breath even though he had no lungs and thus no reason to gasp for breath.

'Is there anyone who can help?' Lan wondered.

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Lan sighed as he walked through the streets. Even if he could find somebody who could help his mom, he realized that there was no way he could communicate with said person. He was dead. Death made him useless to the living. He could, in no way, manipulate what happened in the world of the living.

"Lan," a voice suddenly spoke, grabbing the brunette's attention as he instantly lifted his head and looked around for the source of the voice. His eyes eventually rested on a girl dressed in purple holding a crystal ball. Her eyes penetrated through him, as if she knew he was there.

"Miyu..." the brunette breathed, finally remembering her. The woman nodded before turning and walking into her shop. Knowing not else what to do, he followed.

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"You have been blessed," the strange girl informed the brunette. "Though, you may prefer to think of it as a curse, given your lack of knowledge..."

"What do you mean?" Lan asked. "How could this possibly be a blessing? My mom is suffering and I'm learning how little I actually meant to people I thought cared about me..."

"You are of the few privileged to remain in the world between life and death, postponed in your journey to the other side," Miyu continued. "However, it is you who has to discover what powers you hold in order to help influence this world."

Lan blinked. "Influence?"

The girl nodded. "Caught as you are, you may observe what happens around you. With what you learn, you may apply what you know to help shape the outcome."

"How can I do that?"

"That is for you to discover."

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The boy sighed as he made his way back home. Miyu wasn't as helpful with her advice, but at least he now knew there was a purpose for what was happening to him.

'At least... I hope there is...' the brunette thought as he walked on.

When he made it home, he gave a sideways glance to his crush who was waiting on the front porch, leaning against the wall right next to the open doorway. When Lan walked into the house, he heard two familiar voices talking. Hub and a distressed Haruka were talking to one another in an argument over the red-haired girl, Haruka obviously worried over her first son that had managed to come back to life and the effect his soon-to-be girlfriend, who seemed to have already forgotten her second son, would have on him.

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"Hub, please..." Haruka begged. "Not now..."

"Mama, I'm sorry but I already promised Maylu I'd go out with her," Hub said.

"But Hub..."

"I'm sorry, Mama, but..." Hub sighed before continuing, saying what he seemed to want to avoid saying. "You need to learn to move on. Lan's dead now... If you can't move on, then I'm afraid Papa and I have to consider committing you. We can't watch over you all the time..."

Anger boiled through the brunette as he heard the blue-haired boy say those words.

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"How could you say that?!" I can't help but yell at my brother/killer. "This is Mama! Our Kaa-san!

"She needs you and you're going to run off and not even give her a second thought?!" Hub didn't respond, which only made me even more furious at him. I cock back my fist before letting it lose as I punch him across the face. The only problem was that my arm phased right through him. In my rage, I try to do the one thing I can think of to knock some sense into him. I continue swinging my arms at him in hopes a blow will actually land.

Not paying any heed, or showing any type of reaction for that matter, my brother turned and headed towards the door. So, I do the last thing I can think of doing where action did not work. I yell, putting all of my feelings and frustrations in it.

"You can't do this to Kaa-san!"

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Hub froze in his step, fear creeping into him. Haruka stared, wide-eyed and in shock. Hub slowly turned to see the transparent for of his dead brother, his eyes widening further.

"Lan?" Haruka asked softly and in disbelief.

Surpised, the brunette turned to his mother. Hub's cry of "Ghost!" and running out of the house in fear went unnoticed. The two looked into the other's eyes, trying to read the other concerning this strange development.

At last, Haruka took the initiative. She reached out to touch the brunette's cheek to see how real this was. To make sure she wasn't hallucinating, or at least that it wasn't some sort of trick using a hologram. Tears spilled from her face when her hand went through him when she tried to stroke it. Pain reflected in the face of the brunette's mother.

"Kaa-san..." her son spoke, wishing he could comfort her.

Soft brown eyes opened again, tears silently streaming down as she looked at her son again. They widened when the brunette's transparent form began to fade away. "Lan!" Her arm reached out for, but went through her son.

"Kaa-san!" The brunette could feel the pull on his body, but didn't know how to fight it. So, he tried to convey a sort of message. "Miyu..."

That was all he could get out before he disappeared.

Haruka sank to her knees, despair running through her as she lost her son again.

She had managed to catch the name. However, figuring out why it sounded familiar would come later.

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Lan ran back to Miyu's shop in search of answers. Seeing as how Miyu would be the only one that knew anything that was going on with him, she might know how he managed to do what he did. She had to. She had to!

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There is hope. Lan doesn't have to feel useless, but will he be able to learn just what it is he can do that Miyu does not know or refuses to say he can do? Will he be able to help those he love or will he end up hurting them even more?

This is all I have pre-written.


	4. Hurt

Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman, Red vs. Blue elements, or ghosts. Hopefully, this story's idea is mine.

Haruka's POV, third person, Lan's POV

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I've lost Lan again... I saw him again. I know I did. But he's gone again... I know he's dead, but... 

Must I really be tortured like this? I've lost not one but two of my boys. Only this time... One can't come back.

It's my fault for letting him do such dangerous things. I know he wouldn't want me to be like this, but I can't help it! If I hadn't allowed him to do what he did, then he wouldn't be dead! I could've kept him from the mission that killed him!

I love Hub, but I love Lan, too. Hub connects more with his father. He always has. Lan and I had each other. Both of us tried hard to win my husband's attention and affection. He reserves it for his son, sugarcoats his words to make it sound like "us" when he actually means just Hub. I know that now.

Lan... He was my strength. Since we both could not have my husband, we had each other. We bonded in that way. We supported one another in a way Hub could not understand. He has his father's unconditional love. We were not so lucky. It is because of this we became so precious to one another.

Now that Lan's gone... Do I really deserve to live for allowing the one I should have protected to die? Not once, but twice?

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"Miyu!" Lan yelled as he ran into Miyu's shop and would've been thoroughly soaked by the rain outside had he had a physical body that could feel and collect the pouring waters.

The psychic woman glanced in his direction before turning her attention back to her current visitor, Sal.

"Hurry up!" Lan yelled as he approached Miyu's table, next to where Sal sat. "It's important!"

"Lan, she said you have to figure these things out for yourself," the green-haired nature activist said before turning. "Just because she has some supernatural abilities, it doesn't mean she'll have all the answers you seek."

Lan stared at Sal before following her line of sight outside the door then turned back to her. "Can you sense me or not because you obviously can't see me..."

"Turn your head to your left," Miyu spoke, the two obeying though Sal's face burned with embarrassment as she looked at Lan while he was trying to find something outside from where he stood, not realizing Miyu was only talking to Sal.

"Lan," Sal began as she fought down her embarrassment to look serious. "There is no specific purpose to your current condition. It is for you to decide how to use it. These things that you can do are also a part of it. There's no way of knowing what they are, so you alone have to figure them out."

"If you can, it would be wise to avoid connecting with the Cyberworld," Miyu added. "You may not truly be here, but such things are trivial in the Net, as I'm sure you remember."

Lan nodded as he remembered his encounters with certain navis' ghost data. It was difficult to fight them as the navis were often more powerful than when they last fought them with their only purpose being to fight and Megaman's fear of ghosts did not help any.

"That's good advice and all, but I want to know how I temporarily appeared in the world of the living!" Lan finally voiced what he came for.

"A temporary manifestation in this world?" Miyu asked. "Without a medium?"

"Uh... what?" Lan asked, confused by the psychic's choice of words.

"We didn't go over this..." Sal whispered to Miyu, who ignored the comment.

"As I have said, you need to discover this on your own. I do not know all the answers," Miyu told the brunette. "There are easier way to contact this world without using up so much energy."

"Energy?" Lan asked. "What are you talking about now?"

"Spiritual energy," Miyu elaborated. "You have a very strong spirit. Always have. However, it must be used with caution. I don't know if it has to do with your being trapped between worlds. There is also little known about spiritual energy and the effects z. Since you no longer have a body, you could very well just cease to exist."

"If that's what it takes to make sure Kaa-san is okay..." Lan began.

"I said, there are other ways," Miyu interrupted. "If she is already on a path of self-destuction because of your death, then what will happen should you cease to exist because of her, should your existence even remain a memory?

"You must learn to harness whatever abilities you have and use them sparingly," Miyu continued. "If you merely waste your energy, then no good can come from your interferences. All you'll leave is the memory of your loved ones having lost you multiple times if even that."

"And keep in mind that anything you do could trigger your crossing over," Sal cut in. "Leave nothing left unsaid. Any second could be your last to communicate with someone on this side and there is no need for you to hold back any more information or secrets you may have."

Lan stood silently as he absorbed all this advice. "So... Is there nothing you can help me with?"

Miyu didn't answer. Sighing, Lan dejectedly left the shop. He didn't learn what it was he desperately wanted to.

Sal waited a bit longer before turning to Miyu. "Are you sure you should be torturing him like this?"

"I may have told you to say what you did, but I am just as ignorant as you as to why this is happening."

"I thought you said there was no purpose..."

"Maybe... it has yet to reveal itself."

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She didn't know... She can do all this supernatural stuff but she couldn't help me...

Kaa-san... How can I help you if I can't even reach out to you the way I want to?

I... I need to learn how to do what I did. I don't care if it uses up spiritual energy. For now, it is the only way I know how to be able to contact and help her.

Kaa-san, you don't deserve to suffer. You deserve better. Don't let me be the reason for your unhappiness. I'll be there for you still. I'll help you any way I can. Just... Just don't let yourself...

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Rain continued to pour as the brunette made his way back home through the chilling cold.

* * *

Haruka blames herself for losing her son. Miyu was unable to help Lan the way he wanted. Worse, it seems that if he uses all his spiritual energy to temporarily appear in the living world, he could cease to exist. However, self-sacrifice hasn't stopped Lan from acting on what he felt was right. How far will Lan go to ensure his mother's happiness? Will Haruka do something drastic? And what theory is Miyu hiding? 


	5. Panic

Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman, Red vs. Blue elements, or ghosts. Hopefully, this story's idea is mine.

Switches between Lan's POV, third person, Roll's POV. It ends with Haruka's POV.

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Lan froze when he had entered the kitchen. If his body had blood, it most definitely would have run cold. He stared wide-eyed at the sight before him as he unconsciously took a step back, tears welling up in his eyes. "Kaa-san!" 

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"Mega... Are you sure Haruka is okay?" Maylu's pink navi asked. "She didn't seem all that..."

"She's fine," Hub interrupted. "She just needs some time alone to get over Lan's death. We all do."

"Can we please change the subject?" Maylu asked.

"Right, sorry," Hub apologized.

"But, Maylu..." Roll started.

"Please, Roll..." Maylu cut in with a hint of pleading. "Just drop it."

"I'm just worried about Mrs. Hikari..." Roll said.

"She's fine," Hub assured her.

'You mean like how our relationship was?' Roll kept to herself. Now wasn't the time, not with how uneasy she felt. "Weren't you screaming something about a ghost earlier?"

"Don't bring it up," Hub shivered.

"Come on, Hub..." Maylu said. "We went over this... There are no such thing as ghosts."

"Still, it was all... ghost-like," Hub shivered again.

"Can you be more specific?" Roll asked.

"Roll, just leave it alone," Maylu said.

"But if Haruka saw this ghost, too..." Roll began.

"Jack in! Roll! Power up!" The pink navi yelped as she was suddenly forced into the Net. "Since you're worried so much, you can watch over Mrs. Hikari. You can do that, right?"

"Yes, but you could have given me some warning..." Roll said.

"I'll see you later then," Maylu said into her PET. "Come on, Hub."

The female navi then linked out and headed towards the Hikari household.

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"Kaa-san! Please! Wake up!" I yell. "Please don't die!"

I shake her. I yell. I plead. I don't want to lose her…

I don't know how long she's been here… Blood is seeping out of her. I don't from know where. All I know is that she's lying in her own blood. That she's dying.

"Kaa-san!"

She looks up weakly. She smiles when she looks at me. "Lan…" She's about to fall unconscious again.

"No, Kaa-san! Stay up!" I beg. "You have to live!"

Please, Kaa-san… Don't give up! Don't let this happen!

People need you here… "I need you here…" So please… "Don't die…" _Kaa-san!_

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Lan's transparent body suddenly phased into his mother's body. Lan cringed as he felt where the pain originated from, where the crimson liquid of life was leaking out and onto his mother's clean floor. He was becoming lightheaded. It was becoming harder to focus. He needed to act quickly! If he didn't…

The brunette, currently inhabiting the body of his own mother, pushed away all thought as he made his way to the phone. He struggled with the new weight his previously substance-less spirit body was now provided by this physical one; he fought with the gravity that pushed down on him. Blood trailed across his mother's normally spotless floors as he made his way to the phone, the one focus being to get that phone and call for help.

When he reached the phone, his vision was blurred pretty bad. He couldn't make out the numbers as much as he would have liked. Fumbling, he felt for the keypad and dialed the 3-digit emergency number.

It was after dialing this number that the body lost its strength and collapsed while hitting a single button, leaving Lan leaning against the wall the phone was set on with his mother's unconscious, dying body beneath him, the bottom of his legs phased thorough his feet. Panic swept over the brunette again.

_How are they gonna know to come?! Kaa-san's life is in danger and I only get this far?! Please, somebody help!_

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"Kaa-san… Hang in there! Help is coming!" I tell her. I don't know if she can hear me or not. But there's nothing else I can do. I can only hope she can hear me and use her strong will to live. "Please… Kaa-san… Don't die. Don't die… People need you here. I need you here. Please don't die…"

My hands holds one of hers as I keep speaking to her, saying all that I can to tell her I'm here and that she shouldn't give up. I'm choking up and crying as I continue talking.

How could this happen? How could I let it happen? If Kaa-san dies…

I suddenly hear sirens.

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When I appeared at the Hikari household, I did not expect to see what I did. A figure was hovering over Haruka when I linked into the phone. I could hear nothing. The mute button must have been hit. And there was blood… A lot of blood. I could not do much as I was stuck in the Cyberworld and Haruka was in trouble with whoever this was. I did the only thing I could do. I contacted an ambulance for Haruka and the cops to capture whoever this man is.

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The whirring noises of help were getting closer. Dare I hope that they have come to help my mother?

I must! They're here for her! They have to be! If they don't…

I need to check. I need to make sure they are here for her. If they're not, I need to find some way to bring them here!

The guy is making a run for it! If I weren't confined to this Cyberworld… But I am stuck and this person who wanted to murder Haruka is getting away… Why would someone want to kill somebody like her?

They're here for her! They stopped in front of the house. Relief spreads over me as I rush back. I get back to Kaa-san and tell her that help has come, that she only needs to hold on just a little longer… That she's going to live.

Please… Let her live…

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I watch to make sure that Haruka is well taken care of as they load her up on a stretcher and place her on a stretcher. They had already begun work on her and they would soon take her to the ER. The police then walk in and start taping off the area while I allow myself to be transferred to the Net's Police Station so that they can begin questioning me so as they can capture this criminal.

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Inside the ambulance, I stay near my mother. I try to hold her hand. I cry as she just seems so vulnerable and I can't help. The people are working hard to keep her stabilized and I can't do a thing… Couldn't do a thing…

Why do I have to be so helpless? This is my Kaa-san… My Kaa-san…

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Lan… I could hear his voice through it all… His worry, his panic, his love… I can feel him hold my hand… The warm tears that land on it.

I just wanted to see him once more. For me to have done this much to him…

Gomen nasai… I can hold on a little longer…

* * *

Haruka is close to death and Lan blames himself. Roll believes that the brunette tried to kill her. But thanks to Lan, Haruka has resolved to continue living. Will Haruka die despite her new resolve? How has and will this traumatic event affect everyone? And will Lan be able to learn how to use his abilities? 


	6. Sanity

Disclaimer: I do not own Megaman, Red vs. Blue elements, or ghosts. Hopefully, this story's idea is mine.

It alternates betweens Lan's and Hub's POV, switches to Roll's POV, Haruka's POV, Lan's POV again, and ends in third person.

* * *

I hold onto my mother's hand as I listen to the rhythmic beep of the machine monitoring her. I sit on the edge of her bed holding her hand as I let my sadness overtake me. She's fallen into a coma. Okaa-san is in a coma and there's nothing anyone can do until she wakes up. If she ever will at all...

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"You have to let me see her!" a blue-haired teen yelled at the staff. "That's my mother!"

"I'm sorry, but we can't allow you at this time," a brave soul tried to explain to the teen. "You have to realize that she was almost dead on arrival. She needs her rest."

"She's in a coma!" Hub screamed. "I'm not going to be doing anything that will hurt her!"

"Sir, please calm down," the man tried again. "This is a hospital..."

Hub did a quick search for his PET and presented his holographic Netsaver badge to the man. "Let me see her..." he growled.

Sighing, the man motioned for him to follow.

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Upon hearing the door open, my head snapped up to see who was coming in. What is Hub _doing_here? Were there _not _supposed to be any visitors? I shake my head. Now isn't the time... As much as I hate to admit it, he has just as much a right to see her as I do. More for the simple fact that he is alive and I am not. More for the simple fact that, unlike me, he can help her.

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"Hey, mom..." I began shakily. "How are you?"

Now that I'm here, I don't know what to say. I focused so much on getting this far that I... I haven't put any thought on what to do, what to say...

"That was one heck of a scare you put us through..."

No response. Nothing but that annoying beep that machine makes. It's pretty maddening to have to listen to it.

"I came as soon as I heard," I tried to explain. "Roll chewed me out quite a bit. Talking about how you weren't fine at all but I had to explain to her that an assassin doesn't have anything to do with your mental health."

Time passed on in those annoying beeps.

"Come on, Mama..." I said as I reached down to touch her hand, to hold it. "You're strong enough to fight this..."

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I can't help but bristle as he talks to her and, although failing, try to knock his reaching hand away. How dare he talk like this! Okaa-san almost dies and he calls it a scare?! He worries more about proving Roll wrong about okaa-san than her well-being?!

I turn to glare at him as I tighten my grip on okaa-san's hand, though it is useless as my hand phases right through. "You have no right to call her Mama!"

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A shiver runs down my spine as my breath hitches itself in my throat. I can't help breaking into a cold sweat. I gulp. A ghost is here... I can feel it... Unlike last time where I could run, I lock up. I can't move. I can't move! The beeping... Is it growing faster? What's going on? Why can't I move?! Why can't I get out of here?! The ghost... The ghost! Someone! Anybody! Help!

The beeping is growing faster. The ghost must be getting closer. I still can't move! I can't move! The beeping is overlapping itself! I want to panic! To run! To get out of there! But I can't do anything! My eyes are trying to find something it can't see! Where is it? Where is it?!

"Hub! Calm down!"

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Naze...? Naze...? Why is it that I can't do anything? Okaa-san... She woke up and is now calming Hub down from his panic attack. She must have picked up on his panic and awoken to help him.

I watch her soothing him, making him relax. She's whispering into his ear. She's rocking him back and forth in that hug of hers... I can only look on with jealousy. I long for her touch, her love... However, Hub is now taking even that. Despite this, she is still my okaa-san... I just... I can't stay here. I just can't. This is his time with her. My time... It's gone. It's been gone. Ever since I died...

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That idiot! Just how long did it take for him to register that his mom was in trouble?!

"_Hey, Megaman?" I asked when I approached him after having answered all I could about the assassin. Hub and Maylu had already finished their time together for the day. "You're currently in Full Synchro with Hub, right?"_

_"Of course," the blue navi replied._

_"Good," I breathed before slapping Megaman, as Full Synchro would allow for Hub to experience just as much as this copy did. "Your mom was perfectly fine, huh?! She only needed time to get over Lan, huh?!"_

_"R-Roll?!" Megaman stuttered in disbelief as Hub's equally shocked face appeared on a screen. They both sported a red, stinging cheek where I slapped the cybernetic double._

_"What are you...?" Hub began._

_"Your mom was almost dead when help came!" I scream at Megaman's copy, jabbing a finger into his chest. "You weren't there to help her!"_

_"W-what?!" the two let out simultaneously._

_"An assassin almost killed her and you weren't there trying to comfort her and prevent something like this from happening!" I continue. This could possibly be my only chance to let out my frustration. That much I knew. It should have been about Mrs. Hikari (and for that I feel guilty), but I never got a chance to let out my feelings when Megaman broke up with me for Maylu. My chance to let out everything..._

_"Whoa, whoa, wait! An assassin has nothing to do with Mama's mental state!"_

_The chance was lost. "Moron! What does that have to do with anything?! Did you not hear what I said?! Your mom is at Death's door!"_

_Realization finally struck them and the navi instantly logged out while the screen closed. Thus, I was left alone with nothing but unfinished thoughts and emotions I had to lock back up._

Still, who could have wanted someone like Mrs. Hikari dead? Who was that person? I wish I could have gotten a better look...

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"Hub... I saw him..." I decided to tell him. He is my son, after all. It took a while to calm him down, but... He needs to know.

"Saw who?" he asked.

"Lan..." I answered. His silence became more pronounced in the room and I could tell he was going to protest. "Just listen to me. I saw him... I heard him... I felt him... He watched over me while I..."

"Mama, Lan's dead," he told me bluntly, despite his recent breakdown. "That assassin must have done more than we thought..."

"Assassin?" I asked. What assassin?

"Yeah... the assassin that left you for dead when he heard the police and ambulance coming," Hub explained.

"That's right... The assassin..." I repeated dully. I guess my secret will stay with me... The one that I tried to commit suicide. But the one that was around me... I know that was Lan. I know that was Lan seeing me through all the way.

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Why? Naze? Despite all I try to do, I just can't seem to help her... Why did I have to be cursed like this? Why do I have to watch okaa-san suffer like this? To what end does this torture serve? I can't go on like this... Even if I don't have a choice. Even if I am dead, am I not entitled to some amount of peace?

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"He's losing himself..." Miyu spoke to herself as she gazed into her crystal ball. "He's blinding himself to his actions and falling into despair, believing himself to be useless..."

Miyu continued gazing into the crystal sphere before her that knew so much. "It seems I will have to intervene after all."

* * *

Lan's sanity is becoming more and more unstable. In what way will Miyu interfere? Will Haruka attempt something else should she wish to see Lan again? 


End file.
